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The election of Donald Trump may have come as a cold shower, but it was to be expected in a world that's increasingly frustrated with a profit obsessed globalised economy. Not only have jobs been lost and inequalities increased, but the exploitation of natural resources and the conflicts it fuels, have triggered a massive exodus of refugees and economic migrants. These developments are threatening to tear entire societies apart. Wealth has amassed at the top, in ever fewer hands, with a bottom of the pyramid fighting for the crumbs.
Against this backdrop, Trump's promise of protectionism has found appeal among many people marginalised by neoliberal globalisation. The paradox is that Trump himself is a staunch capitalist, who has massively benefited from the globalised economy he claims to oppose.
While the popular sentiments that gave rise to Trump are understandable, the solutions offered are damaging to the very people whose interests they claim to promote. Yes, we need to challenge economic globalisation, but not to build walls and segregate societies. To the contrary, we need more integration and cooperation. We need a system that levels the playing field between the big corporations benefiting from globalisation and the many small businesses and workers who have lost out. In a word, we need new economic system that pursues social well-being rather than growth.
Why we need to move beyond growth
In my new book, The World After GDP: Economics, Politics and International Relations in the Post-Growth Era, I argue that this shift is only possible if we recognise that our obsession with global economic growth is the source of many tensions societies face.
Our model of growth, represented by the gross domestic product (GDP), has portrayed globalised markets as the driving force of prosperity. It's also pushed for increased production at all costs. As a result, industrial value chains have shifted to the Far East, with corporations taking advantage of the cheaper local workforce. This has triggered resentment among workers elsewhere and generated a massive ecological degradation in these allegedly 'emerging economies'.
Moreover, the reason why Wall Street has become so powerful is because growth makes us believe that financial markets are best at allocating resources and creating wealth. The 2008 collapse was a wake-up call. But apparently it wasn't loud enough if we consider that both former US President Barack Obama and Trump have filled their governments with investment bankers.
The quest for growth has destroyed informal economic systems, which are a critical safety net for many, and replaced them with formal market activities, which benefit a few. It's created incentives for economies of scale leading to the supremacy of big companies at the expense of small businesses. It also favoured competition against cooperation, has portrayed the exploitation of nature as progress and reduced citizens to mere consumers.
We have seen this madness playing out in Africa too where the 'Africa rising' mantra has been used as an excuse to accelerate the exploitation of people and nature while presenting it as a successful development story.
The promise of a post-GDP world
The good news is that the international community is ready to shift to a post-GDP idea of prosperity. I believe here is a crucial opportunity to turn the global economy upside down.
Many calls have been made by institutions, from the UN to the World Economic Forum and the Organisation for Economic Cooperation and Development for a shift to a new definition of prosperity. This points to a focus on inclusivity and sustainability, rewarding countries and companies that increase well-being and punishing those that undermine it (often because they are hooked on growth). And the Sustainable Development Goals may offer the much needed entry point to change the rules of the game.
Indeed, when the social and environmental costs of growth are taken into account, a completely different picture of development emerges. Take India and China, the two rising stars of the growth ideology. They are expected to spend hundreds of billions of dollars annually to address the crises generated by pollution, contamination and social inequality. These costs are conveniently disregarded by GDP, but they are real and hefty.
At the global level, many large industries are anything but efficient or even profitable. A UN-sponsored study shows that some of the largest multinational corporations, from the fossil fuel sector to mining and intensive food production, are responsible for more damage to society and the environment than the revenues they generate. They may be good for growth (mostly of their pockets) but not for well-being.
With a post GDP framework, it becomes evident that global trade bears more costs than gains because of its impact on the environment and society. We should rather pursue regional trade systems – within countries and across borders – empowering communities to build equitable and sustainable local economies. Renewable energy becomes a no brainer as profitable, cheap and empowering. Oil and coal are exposed as obviously inefficient, expensive and damaging.
A post-growth strategy would result in putting people and their ecosystems at the centre of development policy. This would help the building of a different economy from the bottom up. The outcomes would include creating decent jobs, facilitating regional integration and cross border partnerships among small businesses and supporting families and communities. By moving beyond growth, we can address many people's demand for change. And we can escape the anachronistic and dangerously simplistic solutions represented by Trump.
Lorenzo Fioramonti is author of a new book The World After GDP: Economics, Politics and International Relations in the Post-Growth Era.


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MWC 2012: all the key themes from the show
Get to the heart of the show in less than five minutes
Time is short. You're busy. You might not have time to browse our in-depth Mobile World Congress 2012 coverage.
It's why we've clustered together the most interesting handsets from the Barcelona show into a handy top 10 best phones list.
And it's why we've stripped out the hottest trends and squashed them into bite-sized info-nuggets so you know what technologies and issues are shaping the future of mobile.
If you'd like to see our top tips for 2012 mobile tech in video form, you can! Right here:
Let's kick off with…
1. Quad-core processors
The biggest phones of Mobile World Congress 2012 are also the fastest phones we've ever seen, capable of 'astonishing speeds'. The HTC One X, ZTE Era, LG Optimus 4X HD and Huawei Ascend D Quad all come revved up with quad-core chips, which offer blistering speeds to cope with entertainment apps nobody has built yet. See our quad-core phone comparison for more details.
The question is: do we need phones with four cores? Nokia CEO Stephen Elop doesn't think so. "You don't need a quad-core phone unless you want to keep your hands warm in your pocket," he told us. The smartphone spec race is obsessed with bigger, brighter HD screens, faster chips and slimmer designs. What about a better user experience and longer battery life?
2. The chip wars cometh
With the introduction of quad-core processors, a fierce battle is about to break out between mobile chip manufacturers. The custom-built K3V2 chip inside the Huawei Ascend D Quad gets its mobile muscle from four ARM A9 cores. NVIDIA's Tegra 3 also boasts quad A9s, but also includes a fifth companion/'ninja' core for less strenuous tasks. You'll find the Tegra 3 inside the HTC One X and LG Optimus 4X HD.
That's not to say that dual-core has had its day. Qualcomm has claimed that its new dual-core S4 Snapdragon chip can outperform Tegra 3 thanks to its new Adreno 320 GPU. While Samsung's next generation Exynos CPUs will be based around two ARM Cortex A15 cores. Intel has also revealed dual-core x86 Medfield chips in the shape of the Atom Z2580 and low-cost Z2000. But nobody is really interested.
3. Big HD screens
When the iPhone launched in 2007, we salivated over the thought of a 3.5-inch touchscreen display. Now, that seems woefully inadequate as display sizes have crept beyond 4 inches and up to 5. The HTC One X, for example, has a 4.7-inch display, while the LG Optimus Vu has a 5-incher to provide some competition for the 5.3-inch Samsung Galaxy Note.
4. Ice Cream Sandwich
The biggest phones of MWC 2012 are Android phones, specifically Android 4.0 phones. Amongst the improvements for Ice Cream Sandwich are a cleaner, slicker interface; speedier internet browsing; improved notifications and NFC integration.
More streamlined and accessible to new smartphone users, it's arguably the best version of the Google OS yet. Read our Android 4.0: Ice Cream Sandwich review for more details.
5. (Hardly any) Windows Phones
So where are all the Windows Phones? Apart from Nokia, which showed off the Lumia 610 running Windows Phone Tango, Microsoft-powered phones are thin-on-the-ground. We can only assume that the likes of HTC and Samsung are looking ahead to the forthcoming Apollo/Windows Phone 8 build later in the year.
6. No tablet frenzy
If you were expecting a flood of new Android tablets at this year's MWC, you'll be disappointed. ZTE, Huawei and ViewSonic all announced new devices; Samsung revealed the Galaxy Note 10.1; while ASUS unwrapped the new Transformer Pad Infinity. The shadow of the iPad 3 has made the bigger manufacturers cautious. A we'll-wait-and-see-what-Apple-does attitude prevails.
7. Long product names
Have you noticed that the names of new phone models are getting longer? They used to be short. Like the Nokia N97. Or the Motorola RAZR. Some still are, like the iPhone 4S and HTC One X. But new phones like the Huawei Ascend D Quad and LG Optimus 4X HD are a real mouthful.
8. New challengers
It's always interesting to see how the mobile landscape shifts over time. Nokia, Motorola and Ericsson used to dominate phone sales. But now the most popular phones are being produced by Samsung, Apple and HTC.
As for the future, you wouldn't bet against this trio staying on top. But watch out for the likes of Huawei, ZTE, ASUS and Panasonic, which have all revealed good-looking, high-end phones at this year's show. ZTE, which launched its flagship quad-core Era handset at MWC 2012, wants to be a top three handset provider by 2015.
9. High prices
We don't know if you've thought about this, but these future phones are going to be expensive. Who's going to pay for all this quad-core speed and roomy HD displays? We are. So don't get used to the £30-£35 per month tariffs that you're used to paying. If you want a super-phone like the LG Optimus 4X HD, you'll probably have to pay through the nose for the bragging rights.
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By Tom Power

subset: commoncrawl


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Recently I gave a presentation to a local tea party on "surviving a medical meltdown" – the topic of an upcoming book. Although much is said about a probable economic crisis looming, little is said about the medical shutdown that will be part of any monetary system collapse. Additionally, given the stresses of the FDA, OSHA, Medicare and Obamacare – and the legal environment enveloping them all – the medical "system" has the potential to shut down independently of any general economic problem.
For those of you not in the medical field and not related to a doctor or a nurse, a sudden and unexpected lack of medical services may be devastating. Over the next few weeks I will outline my thoughts on preparing yourself and your family for such an eventuality.
There are several key points we will consider. First and foremost, the people who will do the best in such a situation are those needing the least amount of medical care. So the primary consideration will be how we become or stay as healthy as possible. I will discuss principles of real wellness and prevention – not those generally spouted by the government or the average physician produced by conventional medical education.
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The next thing will be how to "be your own corpsman." As a physician in the U.S. Navy, I became aware of the problems of delivery of medical care to a population of active duty sailors and Marines who may be far afield of any conventional clinic or hospital. These service members are cared for by Navy Corpsmen, who must stock provisions and deliver basic aid. These guys and gals do a great job often with minimal supplies, and the principles they use can be adapted to some degree to civilian home readiness.
Although some things require high level-medical care, which will probably be available at a distance, there are many things that can be managed at home, and we will discuss things such as wound care, bites, rashes and common viral illnesses.
TRENDING: Nikki Haley's backers spent millions boosting her bid in her home state. She still lost by 20 points
Finally, we will discuss how to stockpile life-sustaining medications in anticipation of supply disruption.
As part of any long-term infrastructure shutdown, everyone needs a family plan. Between now and my next column consider how you will meet up in the absence of communication, a place for medication storage that is dry, dark and not susceptible to extremes of heat or cold. Consider space for other medical supplies.
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Make or update a list (for carrying in a wallet or purse) of medications for each family member, as well as a simple list of your medical problems including real drug allergies. It is unhelpful to emergency medical personnel to have an overly complicated medical history form. Keep it limited to ongoing medical problems. Don't put down every stubbed toe or minor surgery. Make sure the "allergies" you list are really allergies. For example, becoming nauseated after taking a narcotic is not an allergic response. Listing nausea as an allergy may limit you from being given potentially life-saving medication. If you were told as a child you had an allergy to penicillin, but you have no memory of any significant reaction, try to question a surviving parent. If none are available, record that as "possible allergy by childhood history."
Next column: Eating your way to good health.


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Belly dance your way to good health
Seniors can stay fit with a basic belly dancing class now offered from 9 a.m. to 10:15 a.m. every Thursday at the Creative Thought Center in Waynesville. The classes are ongoing until Thanksgiving and will resume after Jan. 1.
"Exercise and Movement for Middle Eastern Dance" is a basic class that offers stretching, strengthening and a breath-focused approach to learning the forms of the belly dance. It is geared toward mature women or anyone who wants a gentle, fun workout.
The art of Middle Eastern dancing, or belly dancing, has been used from ancient to present times for the purposes of celebration, artistry and therapy. Not only does it create an avenue of expression that is joyous & uplifting, but it is also soothing and energizing for the body, mind and soul.
Instructor Damira/Pamela Norris, CMA (Certified Movement Analyst) has been studying the dance for more than 33 years and teaching for 30. She has studied, performed and taught ethnic dance styles from Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Tunisia, Persia and Turkey. Damira has been leading dance and exercise classes for seniors since 1995.


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We have sprints of 4 weeks duration. What I have been doing is 3 weeks dev time and 1 week of pure manual/automated testing, stabilization and shipment assurance testing.
How to manage TDD within dev time? In my previous experience writing tests and getting 80% coverage requires round about 50% of the development time. Following the same we would get only 1 and a half week of development which is not enough.
My actual problem is how to allocate time for TDD? I want to make TDD a mandatory but with these it becomes really difficult for me. Do you think this is correct approach we are using or are we missing something and alter our approach to Scrum?


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Today, more cars are sold in China than in the United States. Chinese companies, many state-owned, are traveling the world to buy up oil to power them. We are already going to extremes to keep our own fossil economies going – blowing the tops of mountains for coal, the horrible tar sands, and now super deep ocean drilling, like BP's Gulf of Mexico blow-out.
Ours is a fossil economy. Every day, humans burn up fuels made from 5 million years worth of solar power, stored by ancient plants. We are burning it all, at a rapid rate, loading up the atmosphere with greenhouse gases.
In fact, all our resources, from metals to rainforests, are being used up, turned into waste, at an incredible rate. Developed economies continue neo-colonialism, as multi-national corporations, larger than countries, drag out "unobtainium" even from war-torn, collapsed countries like Sudan and the Congo.
Meanwhile, thanks to the glory of television and advertising, far from developed countries, all humans struggle to join in the final party. If everyone consumed even as much as Europeans, much less North Americans, it would take three to eight planet Earth's to do it. Billions want more, and WE still want more. A collision of unimaginable proportions is coming.
Pretty well everyone senses a collapse is inevitable, as natural reality, and the laws of physics, interrupt our endless expansion of population and consumption. The only question is: will we drain Earth until it dies, or will we at least try to plan something else?
There is an alternative. It is called "Degrowth". A planned and willing movement to end the mad economic system of endless growth, based on endless consumption and pollution. An admission that really, to survive, humanity needs to shrink out demands upon the planet. To plan out a smaller economy, and lower personal ecological footprints.
It is time.
This is Radio Ecoshock. If you go over our past programs, you'll find dozens that lead to degrowth. Like Cecile Andrews on the "Simplicity Movement". Like everything we've ever done on climate change. I suspect most Ecoshock listeners, when they investigate degrowth, will feel like they are coming home. Finally, a name for what we know.
On April 30th, 2010 I attended and recorded one evening from a three day conference on Degrowth. It was historic, the first such gathering in North America.
European intellectuals and activists have been leading the development of Degrowth. They have a long history and much wider recognition. The first International De-growth Conference was held in Paris in April of 2008. There was another, the 2nd Conference on Economic Degrowth for Ecological Sustainability and Social Equity, held in Barcelona, Spain in March 2010. Each was remarkable for the wide range of academics, and even government officials who attended. The need to limit greed, and find alternatives to endless growth, is better known in Europe.
But a shrinking economy, even though that is obviously in the cards, is still shocking in the heartlands of buy-more, the United States and Canada. So it was a welcome beginning to find 300 people gathering in Vancouver, Canada, for the first Degrowth meet-up on this continent.
In this program, you will hear just a few samples from many presentations there, and nothing from the lively discussion circles hashing out the new vision, and new rules of living on a limited planet.
I'll start with a brief introduction by conference host and author Rex Weyler, a founder of Greenpeace, a member of the Vancouver Peak Oil Executive, and now the Degrowth movement. We'll also get a short impression of the Barcelona Conference, from Tom Walker.
Then it's time for heavy lifting. The ugly reality of our near total dependence on fossil fuels that are running out. Even without the tragedy of climate change, Peak Oil expert Dave Hughes should frighten us all into low-energy life with sustainable power. As a Canadian energy researcher and resource expert, (he worked for several decades for the Geological Survey of Canada) – Dave has many times given what is now known across North America as "the talk". As he makes numerous presentations, with his graphs and helpful facts, Dave is kind of an energy Al Gore, don't you think?
From many speakers, I've also chosen Jack Alpert from the Stanford Knowledge Integration Laboratory. He'll tell us how many humans could live sustainably on Earth with modern lifestyles. Wait till you hear that number.
One of the principal organizers was Conrad Schmidt, head of the Work Less Party. And job sharing is one of the tools available to keep people working, as we share sustainable life. Here is a short clip from York University Professor and no-growth advocate Peter Victor, as he suggest how to maintain employment in a time of economic contraction. You can also find that clip of Professor Peter Victor on You tube.
We only have time for one more speech from Vancouver's No Growth Conference. Remember, the idea is that we are headed for a collapse, due to over-use of the planet's resources, plus a sudden demand for equality of life from billions more people in the world. Should we wait for war and famine? Or can we still plan not just to limit our consumption, but to reduce it drastically? Collapse or degrowth seem to be the only options left.
Let's say we want to keep high-tech solutions like hospitals, and reasonable use of rapid transportation, like high-speed trains. And we want everyone on the planet to have enough to eat, without using up the soil, or poisoning the planet with pollution. How many humans can planet Earth really support in this way, for thousands of generations?
Jack Alpert has figured that out. The reality is shocking.
That short talk barely touches the depth of Jack Alpert's experience and thinking about humanity. For example, he's developed a theory that explains our inability to deal with long-term problems like limited energy or climate change. He calls it time blindness. Jack has agreed to do a future interview with Radio Ecoshock, but in the meantime you can watch a full-length video at the web site skil.org.
We hardly covered the many presentations and discussions from the three day conference in Vancouver, at the end of April 2010. You can find a couple more speeches on the "Economic Crisis" page in our audio-on-demand menu, at ecoshock.org. These include presentations by former Shell International VP Anita Burke, and Vancouver alternatives architect Rick Balfour.
Conference organizers are also offering a DVD of the entire proceedings, with screening rights. Find the details at www.de-growth.com. My thanks for permission to record and broadcast what you have heard today.
For a quick introduction to this movement, and it's intellectual roots look up degrowth, all one word, at Wikipedia.
I'm Alex Smith for Radio Ecoshock. I invite you to cruise our archive of past programs, at ecoshock.org, for a lot more ideas about simple living, real sustainable energy tech, and ways to live in a just and lasting world.


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Hi Rie Rie, I'm sorry that this holiday greeting is late. My Mom isn't doing well so things here have been upside down. I hope your Christmas was your best ever filled with more wonderful things than you ever dreamed of. My sincere wish for you and those you care for is that 2009 will bring you good health, prosperity and happiness beyond measure. I'm honored to be on your Friends list! Peace, Eileen aka Momcat
Copyright © 2001-2013 Pet of the Day.com


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How far across is the Milky Way?
At a given time how can one locate the center of our galaxy as we orbit the Sun and the Sun orbits the galaxy? Is our solar system moving away from the center of the galaxy? How many years does it take the Sun to orbit the center of the galaxy? Specifically, where in the universe can our solar system be found?
The Sun and our solar system are in the Milky Way galaxy. There are billions of other stars in the Milky Way Galaxy too - it's like a big star city!Our galaxy is 90,000 light-years across. It is a spiral galaxy, so it has arms that come from the center of the galaxy like a pinwheel. The Sun is located about 28,000 light-years out from the center of the galaxy in the Orion Arm.
Our solar system is moving around the center of the galaxy. But, we don't get any closer or farther from the center of the galaxy. The solar system is moving through space really fast, but it still takes 200 million years for it to go around once!
The center of our galaxy is beyond the constellation Sagittarius. So, if you can find this constellation in the sky, you'll be looking toward the center of our galaxy! Cool!
The Milky Way is part of a set of galaxies known as the Local Group. The Local Group includes other galaxies within 3 million light-years. This Local Group is part of a supercluster, known as the Virgo supercluster. This supercluster has at least 5,000 member galaxies and is roughly 100 million light-years across. Beyond this, we don't know much about our position in the universe.


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Thursday May 12, 2011 4:13 pm
Nikon Coolpix P500 review
If you want to capture the action close up, the 12.1-megapixel Nikon Coolpix P500, with its 36x zoom lens, will get you right there. But with this digital camera, you get more than just an insanely long lens. Good image quality, speed, and a well-rounded feature set, are part of the deal. Just keep in mind: The P500 is big, since it houses a big lens, but you don't get a large sensor, like you would with a compact interchangeable lens camera or a Digital SLR. Read on for our full review of the Coolpix P500, and how it stacks up against the competition.
Though the P500 features a huge 36x zoom, a large, articulating 3-inch LCD and a solid, SLR-like grip, it weighs in at a surprisingly light-feeling 1.1 pounds. At 2.3 by 4.06 by 1.26 inches (HWD), though, it's not small. All that space is to hold the camera's massive zoom lens. The grip on the right side provides a firm hold while framing your shot, and well-placed buttons and switches offer plenty of control; the camera feels good in your hand. You get dedicated buttons for continuous shooting and video recording, and a scroll wheel for aperture/shutter/manual-shooting settings.
The lens has a massive focal length span of 22.5 to 810mm (35mm equivalent), giving it both remarkable reach and a very wide angle. To give you some perspective on how far and wide this lens can reach, the 18x Nikon Coolpix S9100 ($329.95, 4 stars) and the 14x Canon PowerShot SX230, both superzoom cameras, span just 25-450mm and 28-392mm respectively. The P500's corresponding aperture of f/3.4-f/5.7 isn't especially fast, but even f/5.7 is a respectable speed when you're zooming all the way to 36x. You might want to consider getting a monopod or tripod, though if you really want to take advantage of the full zoom capability. When extended all the way to 36x, the lens becomes extremely sensitive to shakes, so you'll need to a really fast shutter speed something to stabilize the camera
For a big camera, the P500 has a relatively small, 28.5mm2 sensor. To compare, the pocket-size Canon Powershot S95's has a 43.3mm2 sensor, and larger, but P500-size interchangeable-lens cameras like the Sony Alpha NEX-3 have even larger sensors).
The P500 offers three noteworthy features that help simulate a D-SLR experience. First is an electronic viewfinder (EVF), located just above the LCD. It looks like an optical viewfinder on an D-SLR, but instead of a reflected view through the camera's lens, it's a 240k-dot LCD mounted like a viewfinder that displays the same info on the camera's 3-inch articulating LCD. There's also a barrel-mounted zoom trigger. Besides the usual one on top of the camera, an additional one on the lens barrel lets you zoom in and out using your thumb. It's a similar sensation to twisting an SLR's lens to zoom. The last feature is the manual controls thumb wheel that can quickly control aperture and shutter speed in manual or priority modes. A flick can adjust your shooting settings when in these modes. Just like a D-SLR. Fully automatic shooting with face detection is also available, as are the typical selection of scene modes.
The LCD screen is top-notch; it's as large and sharp as what you'll find on much pricier digital SLRs. With a resolution of 921K dots, it's three times that of most point-and-shoot cameras. The display is mounted to an arm that you can pull out and tilt up or down. It's good to have when you have to shoot with the camera above or below your head.
Still-Image Performance, Video, and Conclusions
The P500 is fast, powering up and shooting in an average of 2 seconds, and you only wait 1.5 seconds between shots. Shutter lag, the time from button press to image capture, is a mere 0.5 seconds. In the PC Mag labs, we use Imatest to objectively measure image quality. And the P500 turned in great performance numbers. In terms of sharpness, the camera delivered a very sharp center-weighted average of 1,894 lines per picture height. And the P500 can handle low-light shooting with aplomb. I was able to crank the ISO sensitivity up to ISO 3200 and noise remained below the 1.5-percent acceptability threshold. Shooting at this high ISO means you can get away without a flash indoors and other low-light situations, and still get clean, usable images. To compare, the comparatively tiny PowerShot S95 turned up an average of 1,858 lines per picture height, and kept noise below 1.5 percent up to and including ISO 1600.
A powerful video-recording device, with the P500, you can capture footage in high-def at 30 frames per second in either 1080p or 720p. You also record small high-speed video (240p at 240 fps and 120p at 120 fps), which is then played back at normal speeds for a slow-motion effect. You can zoom and refocus the massive 36x zoom lens while you shoot, but both actions produce slight buzzing and clicking noises that will get picked up in your recordings.
Nikon includes a mini-HDMI port so you can plug it right into an HDTV for video and still-image play back. A proprietary USB port (with an included cable) lets you connect the camera to a computer. Since the camera records to SD, SDHC, and SDXC cards, you can use a card reader to transfer photos too.
If major zoom factor is your number one priority, the 36x Nikon Coolpix P500 delivers. While it's expensive for a single-lens point-and-shoot camera, you won't find a further-reaching lens for the $400 price. And you get speed, great image quality and solid low-light performance in the bargain. If you can sacrifice some zoom for a camera that fits in your pocket, our Editors' Choice, the the $330 18x Coolpix S9100 is much more compact, less expensive, and offers top-notch speed and performance.
You can get the Nikon Coolpix P500 on Amazon.
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Case Material: Resin
Band Color: Blue
Buckle/Clasp: Buckle
Case Color: Green
Case Finish: Translucent
Case Shape: Round
Case Size: Small Size
Crystal/Lens: Acrylic
Dial Color: White
Dial Markings: Arabic (Full)
Watch Movement: Quartz Analog
Water Resistance: 30 meters
Band Material: Elastic Fabric
Case Height: 9.40 mm
Strap and Lug Width: 16 mm
Case Width: 29 mm
Once upon a time children were proud to tell time on their own. This just-for-kids watch will help them on their way, so they can live happily ever after…and on time.
Easy-to-Read Dial
Rotating Graphic as Second Hand
Adjustable and Washable Elastic Fabric Strap
Acrylic Safety Crystal
Water-Resistant to 30 Meters
Timex® Kids Loss Protection Plan


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Alison Krauss' most recent triumph, the certified-platinum Raising Sand, her 2007 collaboration with Robert Plant and producer T Bone Burnett, notched up a total of six Grammy® Awards, including Album of the Year and Song of the Year, bringing her unsurpassed total to 26. That mesmerizing modern-day masterpiece sets the stage for another stunner: Paper Airplane, the artist's first album of all-new recordings in partnership with her remarkably skillful and renowned band Union Station since 2004's Lonely Runs Both Ways.
The players—Jerry Douglas (Dobro, lap steel, vocals), Dan Tyminski (guitar, mandolin, lead vocal), Ron Block (banjo, guitar) and Barry Bales (bass, vocals), with Krauss on lead vocal and fiddle—are five distinct personalities who come together to form something truly unique as a band. Each bandmate has his own bustling career, but when these singular musicians come together, they're an airtight unit devoted to the process of making music together. Indeed, their connection is so close and deep that they've come to think of each other as family.
Produced by Krauss and Union Station, with studio legend Mike Shipley engineering and mixing, Paper Airplane contains 11 songs of poignancy and austere beauty, chosen with the impeccable taste and unerring intuition that have characterized her entire body of work, delivered by this world-class unit with an immediacy that goes beyond mere virtuosity.
Throughout her remarkable career, which spans a quarter century, though she's only 39, Krauss has remained grounded and real. Deeply introspective as an artist, she's commensurately outgoing and spontaneous in conversation—both sides of her character evidencing a life-embracing humanity. In her work, Krauss has managed to consistently locate the fertile common ground between traditional modes and topical themes. On Paper Airplane, she and the band somehow managed to plumb the depths of Krauss' own psyche while also capturing the zeitgeist, so that this portrait of the artist doubles as a portrait of America as a whole at a crucial moment in its history.
The process that led to Paper Airplane had its own particular set of circumstances, at one point bringing the sessions to a dead stop when, for just the second time in her life, Krauss was hammered by a bout of migraine headaches. "There have been records that were tough to make, but this one took the cake," she says with a rueful laugh. "At one point, Dan said, 'I don't really know what to do unless you're jumping up and down because you love something or you hate it.' I make judgments based on how something makes me feel, and because I wasn't physically well, everything was kind of gray and nothing sounded right. So after we recorded a bunch of things, we took a long break, because it just wasn't working."
For the crucial missing piece, Krauss turned to her longtime go-to guy, songwriter Robert Lee Castleman. When she called him, Castleman lamented that he was in a dry spell and feeling uninspired, but he asked her to come over and sit with him and tell him about what was going on in her life. When Krauss walked in the door, he told her he had a melody. "What are you going to do now?" she asked him. "Wait," he answered. "It'll probably be here by midnight." Krauss stayed just long enough to make grilled cheese sandwiches and tell him what was going through her mind. A few hours later, Castleman called. "I got it," he said. "What's it called?" she asked. "'Paper Airplane,'" he answered.
"All I did was encourage him and share what was going on within myself," Krauss recalls of that memorable afternoon. "But I can't take credit for his gift. I had no hand in writing it—that was all Robert."
Castleman hit the bull's-eye, evidenced by the fact that "Paper Airplane" serves as the new album's title song as well as its opening track. What did this newly minted song express that was so right in terms of what she wanted to say?
"It represents a trial—like a trying time that has an end," she explains. "And that's what everything was to me on this record, including the Dustbowl tune [the Tyminski-sung "Dustbowl Children," written by Peter Rowan]. It's all about a span of time that's a trial. We didn't pick that as a theme; we found out what the theme was afterward. I was just following what was appealing, but wasn't conscious of what it was that was speaking to me. I don't have any preconceived notions; I don't know till it hits me."
Similar friendly persuasion on Krauss' part yielded the grown-up lullaby "Lie Awake" from her brother Viktor and lyricist Angel Snow. She also urged her friend and longtime musical colleague Sidney Cox, of Louisiana's Cox Family, to complete the seafaring saga he was working on, "Bonita and Bill Butler," about his ancestors' voyage to America, which captivated her, even in its unfinished state. She just knew it would be a natural fit with Tyminski's muscular, evocative voice. "
Nobody can touch Dan when he's in his element," Krauss raves. "He always jokes, 'I'm an angry soldier, or I'm an angry farmer.' I was so jacked up on this song of Sidney's, and thankfully, Dan liked it. It's beautiful writing, and Dan delivered. I've loved his singing forever, but he went to a whole other place on this record."
She also selected a pair of classics in Jackson Browne's "My Opening Farewell" (from his self-titled 1972 debut album), which she'd learned from Michael Johnson's cover version, and Richard Thompson's "Dimming of the Day" (originally sung by his then-wife Linda on the couple's 1975 LP Pour Down Like Silver).
"I'd first heard 'Dimming of the Day' when T Bone Burnett played it for me three years ago, as we were going through material for Raising Sand, and I said, 'Oh, I can't do that'—I just couldn't go there at the time. But when we were gathering tunes for this album, I felt like I could. The funny thing is, I'd been thinking about it, and Robert Castleman called to tell me he had the most perfect song for me—it was 'Dimming of the Day.' And then, Jerry [Douglas] kept talking about this beautiful song he'd heard that we would love, but he couldn't remember the name of it. When the band and I sat together and listened to 'Dimming of the Day', Jerry goes, 'That's the song!' We thought it fit with the rest of the way things were on this record. " Does it ever.
"The day we cut the song in the studio, and hit the line, 'When all my will is gone you hold me sway,' I fell apart and had to stop. I said, 'It's so sad.' And everybody was so sweet—I thought they were gonna laugh and rip me apart. There was this big, long silence, and Barry says, 'Well, that's what you get for havin' a girl in the band.'"
In the end, making Paper Airplane was a revelatory experience for the band. "Whatever formula we thought there was doesn't exist," Krauss acknowledges. "It disappeared, especially this last time out. You can't trust your method; you can't rely on a method. The only thing you can do is record things that move you—that have a connection with you—and to represent yourself truthfully. Things have to be true that I sing or I can't do it. Whether I write them or not, they have to be true for me to say it, and for the guys to play it. The only recipe is if it feels true, and true may be incredibly sad. But that's the part that feels good, because it's truthful. It might not be true for anybody else, but it is for us. That's the recipe."
"I feel like this is the best environment for me," she says of working within the context of the band. Proof of that simple but telling statement resonates from every note of this musically exquisite, emotionally charged and, above all, utterly truthful album.


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Classic review: Love in the Time of Cholera
[This review first ran in the Monitor on May 12, 1988.] The Colombian-born writer Gabriel García Márquez won the Nobel Prize for Literature in 1982, 15 years after the extraordinary fireworks display of his stunning novel One Hundred Years of Solitude. In all the years before and after the prize, he continued to write fiction that sputtered and smoldered with a fitful brilliance; strongly written, but thematically disappointing works that never quite matched the already fulfilled promise of his early masterpiece of Magic Realism.There are no fantastic happenings in "Love in the Time of Cholera." But a man called Florentino Ariza does love a woman named Fermina Daza unrequitedly for more than 50 years, waiting until she is widowed to declare himself, when he is 76 and she 72.
Florentino first sets eyes on Fermina when she is still a schoolgirl. An aspiring poet (throughout his life he will continue to enter poetry competitions, never winning), he woos her in the courtliest fashion: with letters, serenades, verses inscribed on the petals of flowers. Fermina responds, more coolly and guardedly, but when her coarse, ambitious father tries to end the romance, she and Florentino circumvent his plans. Love seems just about to triumph when all of a sudden, Fermina has a kind of negative epiphany in which she realizes that this great love was merely an illusion.
Later, this time to her father's delight, she is wooed by the town's most distinguished citizen, Dr. Juvenal Urbino: handsome, aristocratic, a pious Roman Catholic, a patron of the arts, and a respected physician whose single-handed fight to improve sanitary conditions helps wipe out the dreaded cholera epidemics that have been ravaging the country.
Observing the symptoms her son exhibits at the onset of his infatuation, Florentino's mother concludes that "the symptoms of love are the same as those of cholera.'' But the feverish love that swings from elation to frustration is only one of the many forms of love that take shape in this richly variegated novel, which follows the lives of its three main characters from the last decades of the 19th century to the first decades of the 20th, from the coastal Caribbean town where they live, across the ocean to Europe, along rough mountain roads to Andean villages, and along the Magdalena River route traveled by boats of the company in which Florentino eventually makes his fortune. There are the many physical loves that Florentino will experience secretly as a bachelor, no longer a virgin, but still, in his own mind, "saving'' himself for Fermina. There is also the love he has for a clever, black former prostitute, whom he helps get a job at the riverboat company and who helps him transform it into a thriving concern. She is his "true woman,'' whom he always loves but never sleeps with.
And there is the deepening, sometimes strained, but ultimately solid conjugal love that grows between Fermina and her husband, Juvenal Urbino. They do not fall in love, they "invent'' it. By looking for it, they find it. If love can be an illusion, like a dream - involuntary, irrational, fleeting - so too can it be a deliberately crafted and sustained illusion, like a work of art - complex, enduring a rational invocation of something greater than rationality.
When Florentino once more sets about wooing Fermina, 50 years later, he takes a fresh tack. Instead of the passionate, handwritten love letters of his youth, he sends mature, meditative, typewritten philosophical disquisitions on life and love. At last Fermina is convinced: This love is no illusion. And what does she say to him, this septuagenarian widow? "Let time pass and we will see what it brings.'' What it brings is the fruition of a love that has unfolded over half a century.
As Fermina and Florentino set sail along the Magdalena River in a boat called the New Fidelity, their late love blossoms amid a landscape made desolate by time and exploitation: The river's once-forested shores have been decimated, the water has receded, the riparian wildlife has dwindled or disappeared. Yet amid the ruins of nature, they find happiness. Time has proved both enemy and friend. This is a novel about people who choose hope over despair, self-knowledge over self-dramatization, in the belief that love can transform age and time.
"Love in the Time of Cholera'' is a boldly romantic, profoundly imaginative, fully imagined work of fiction that expands our sense of life's infinite possibilities.
Merle Rubin regularly reviewed fiction for the Monitor in the 1980s.


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I am currently trying to render Water (3,198,333 records) and detailed world borders (processed_p) for the world. I am successful in rendering both layers, but I am not happy with performance.
My current setup is as follows:
- Amazon EC2 instance (m2.2xlarge)
- 34.2 GB of memory
- 13 EC2 Compute Units (4 virtual cores with 3.25 EC2 Compute Units each)
- 850 GB of instance storage
- 64-bit platform
- I/O Performance: High
- Mapnik, 4 threads
- Postgresql settings based on these benchmarks
- GiST index in place for all of my layers
Some of my Ideas to Increase Performance:
- Simplifying my features
- Don't render water tiles - when loading with openlayers can set load failure to blue color
- Split world water features into various sections and explicitly tell mapnik its bounds. For example, if I split water features from North America, when Mapnik is generating tiles for Australia it should not query North America to see if any of its features are in the tiles.
- My second idea is a bit more crazy. Since Mapnik performs a spatial query for each tile in order to find features to process, I can perform this query beforehand for all of my layers. I would assume that this would save some processing power.
My Question: What else can I do to optimize tile rendering?


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Unable to use the Bluetooth® wireless technology headset with a notebook with built-in Bluetooth wireless.
Computers with the Bluetooth Stack by Toshiba have the Bluetooth profile necessary to work with Bluetooth wireless technology headsets. Computers using the Microsoft Bluetooth stack or the Sony Bluetooth stack do not have this profile, so a Bluetooth wireless technology headset will not function.
NOTE: A third-party Bluetooth stack solution may be available that will provide the necessary profile.


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Credit derivatives were originally hyped as hedging tools to protect the value of a portfolio. For example, if you own a bond, you can buy protection against the possibility of default by paying a protection premium, similar to the premium you pay on an insurance policy. The difference between insurance and the credit derivatives known as credit default swaps (CDS) is that you don't actually have to own the bond in order to "buy protection." But like an insurance policy, you have to negotiate the terms of the contract.
Leverage and Language
Since I wrote the first edition of my book, Credit Derivatives and Synthetic Structures in 1998, (John Wiley & Sons, second edition 2001), nothing has changed for the better in the credit derivatives market. It is the first trade book about credit derivatives and stresses that these products are primarily used for leverage. The overwhelming problems are pricing and the risk of misinterpretation of the meaning of the contract language.
Language "Arbitrage"
Sometimes contracts are maliciously written to disadvantage the unwary; this is also called "language arbitrage," because manipulating the language makes a risk-free gain for the perpetrator.
In April 2005, I explained to the International Monetary Fund (IMF) that no one in the credit default swap market should trust ISDA "standard" documentation. One has to rewrite the contract language to protect one's own interests. The beginning of this clip illustrates that point:
Janet Tavakoli at the IMF conference, "Asset Securitization and Structured Finance: Benefits, Risks and Regulatory Implications," April 19, 2005 (requires Windows Media Player)
The following is from my March 12, 2010 post, "Washington Must Bank U.S. Credit Derivatives: Games and Gold," on problems with U.S. credit derivatives, but it applies to the problems with credit default swaps on Greece today.
Sovereign Credit Default Swap Contracts: Tower of Babble
The credit default swap market has a history of conflicts, and the worst of them occur when it is time to settle up. For example, hedge funds Eternity Global Master Fund Ltd. and HBK Master Fund LP thought they purchased protection against an Argentina default and sued when J.P. Morgan refused to pay off on Argentina credit protection contracts Eternity had purchased.
J.P. Morgan's posture was different when it wanted to collect on the protection it bought from Daehon, a South Korean Bank. J.P. Morgan claimed the slightly different contract language met the definition of restructuring under the credit default protection contract it had with the South Korean Bank.
The problem today is that some owners of credit default protection on Greece think they should be able to declare a credit event, but the ISDA cartel has issued an opinion that according to its interpretation of the documents, there has been no default. The problem has always been that contract language is subject to both abuse and "interpretation:"
Greece and the ISDA Cartel: Language Games
There are a variety of problems that arise with credit default swap language. The two biggest are disputes about the definition of a credit event and disputes when it's time to settle up after everyone finally agrees a credit event has occurred. Settlement disputes arise over the value of the physical instrument delivered (for physical settlement) or with the calculation of the cash settlement amount (for cash settlement).
Recently the ISDA committee, which is stacked with the large financial institutions that dominate the trading of these products, ruled that no credit event has yet occurred for holders of credit default protection on Greece, if one used "standard" ISDA documentation.
The committee is controlled by the largest banks and financial institutions that trade these products. You can view the list here. For the Americas, the committee includes Voting Dealers: Bank of America / Merrill Lynch, Barclays, Citibank, Credit Suisse, Deutsche Bank, Goldman Sachs, JPMorgan Chase Bank, N.A., Morgan Stanley, Societe Generale, UBS, and Voting Non-dealers: BlueMountain Capital, Citadel LLC, D.E. Shaw Group, Elliott Management Corporation, and Pacific Investment Management Co., LLC.
Credit Default Swaps: A Speculators Dream of Leverage
Given all the problems for hedgers, why has the credit derivatives market grown like crazy to notional amounts in the tens of trillions of dollars?
Speculators poured into the CDS market because of its tremendous leverage. If you think a bond might go down in value, or if the bond is downgraded, the credit default swap will gain in value, even if no default occurs. A speculator who gets in early enough can exit the trade at a huge profit and is out only the amount of the premiums paid in the meantime.
It's as if you bought a life insurance policy on your sovereign neighbor, known to those paying attention to be a reckless-driver, and then made a killing when your neighbor had a fatal accident. Obviously, you know it wouldn't be fair play to tamper with your neighbor's brakes, but others who stand to make a huge gain might be tempted.
Speculators look for huge swings in value. Some speculators aren't too fussy about how those swings in value occur and sometimes try to help it along by say, stoking a rumor mill or other market machinations.
Since credit derivatives often allow speculators to get the benefit of high leverage for very little initial outlay, credit derivatives, which were once touted as hedging tools, have become dominated by speculators.
Pricing is Always an Issue: You Can't Trade with a Screen
If a speculator bought credit default protection on Greece a couple of years ago, the speculator wouldn't have paid much in premiums and today can make many times the initial outlay. For example, during the past couple of years (depending on when one entered and exited) a few hundred thousand dollars could net a gain of several million on a $10 million trade.
But the trade is for people with deep pockets, because the pricing is controlled by a handful of traders, and when you ask for a price, the screen price becomes irrelevant and all of the "market makers" suddenly offer you the same lousy price. In one recent example, a speculator with a $10 million notional CDS claimed that he was being ripped off for $500 thousand after being lowballed in a bid for the protection he had purchased long ago. That $500 thousand isn't merely 5% of the notional amount, since it represents a much larger percentage of the gains to which he believed he was entitled. This sort of thing happens all the time, since pricing is controlled by a small group of market makers who often have a buyer lined up on the other side. Any money the "market maker" middleman squeezes out of buyers and sellers becomes profit.
Speculators aren't as fussy about language, because unlike hedgers, they aren't trying to match off risk. Often the interests of speculators and hedgers are misaligned, since hedgers often prefer that the underlying bonds (or other risk) recovers–the risk is rarely completely hedged, because hedges are expensive. But speculators often make a naked bet. If a speculator is long credit default protection, the worse things get, the more the speculator makes.
Protect Yourself
There are so many issues in the credit derivatives market, that it's impossible to cover them all in a post. The Dodd Frank Act won't resolve the problems in the credit derivatives market, and bank lobbyists were successful in neutering effective change.
The disputes over credit default swaps on Greece highlight the fact that most participants in the credit derivatives market are at the mercy of ISDA when it comes to interpretation of ISDA's language. The only solution to that is to exercise one's rights, and insist on a custom-made over-the-counter contract that protects one's interests. As the past few years have shown, "regulators" won't protect investors either before or after the fact. you have to protect yourself.
Credit Dervatives and Systemic Risk
In earlier commentaries, I discussed how credit derivatives foster systemic risk in the global financial system. One example is "Goldman's Undisclosed Role in AIG's Distress," November 10, 2009.
Endnote: My new e-book, The New Robber Barons, is now available in the U.S., UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
Disclaimer: This page contains affiliate links. If you choose to make a purchase after clicking a link, we may receive a commission at no additional cost to you. Thank you for your support!


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I have spent the past day or so in bed. The dog is less sick, eating again. We have to get his drain removed. He is wearing the Elizabethan collar but hates it.
My left leg is getting better…my right ankle isn't. Robby stayed over last night. Today he watered the garden, filled the hot tub, went to the supermarket and ran around the house as I finally caught up on all the various tasks that could be accomplished from my bed.
Jen and Jason were incredibly helpful. Anna brought supper.
Surrounded, as usual, with love. Occasionally it is hard to recognize just how lucky I am.
Robby and I have a wonderful relationship. We talk and play and the more I know him…the more I trust him. In fact, I might trust him more than any person I know right now. He has been a perfect antidote to JB. I feel hopeful again because he brings me love.
Crippled and confined to the couch he was pottering about the house making everything look good.
We were talking about how private one needs to be in life.
He is a tentative soul.
He wondered why I write every personal detail here in this blog. Make public what most people keep private. Something that delighted Jake until (of course) he was part of it, part of the narrative…then it wasn't quite so alluring.
Learn this lesson: If you don't like your private life being scrutinised…avoid public figures…you will lose your anonymity.
The reality guy who killed himself this week? He had no idea just how pernicious reality TV really is.
We mused about what remains private and what should be public. I am quite clear why I write everything here.
If, like me, you have lived an audacious, notorious life then for every eager friend there is a fool desperate to pull you down.
It is best to live without secrets. Many years ago I was taught that we are as sick as our secrets. What does that mean? If you are cheating on your wife you will be defined by your deception. If you are lying to your friends you will be hindered by self-doubt.
If I have made mistakes, told a lie, cheated a friend or been generally disreputable then I write it here. My part in what ever unfolding drama is worth noting. We tend to focus on who to blame and rarely acknowledge our responsibility.
Keeping my side of the street clean.
That is why I have struggled so badly with you-know-who. It has been incredibly difficult to own my part. I don't want to admit my short comings.
I make him responsible. I blame him. I say: He lied to me. He cheated. He duped me. He did drugs in front of me. All of this is true…of course, but has to be balanced with: I am responsible. I lied to him. I chose somebody inappropriate. I allowed myself to be duped. I had no boundaries.
When I point at him three fingers point back at me.
What is the answer?
I aim to be ashamed of nothing. This leads, inevitably, to peace of mind.
You, dear reader, know everything! There's nothing I've not written about. You know every insane thought, every defect, every leak and misery.
You know everything…so I fear nothing. Not one of you has anything on me.
When you live a lie you are vulnerable. I don't want to be vulnerable.
Back to NYC next month to see JB in court but it's fashion week and I've been invited to a slew of fashion week events. Robby will be in town so we can do some fun shit. I love that boy. Jenny will be there too and wants to come to court with me. Before we vanish to The Hamptons.
There is a great deal to do these coming autumn/winter months.
LA will be hosting Pacific Standard Time the culmination of a long-term Getty Research Institute initiative that focuses on postwar art in Los Angeles.
Through archival acquisitions, oral history interviews, public programming, exhibitions, and publications, the Research Institute is responding to the need to document the historical record of this vibrant period.
Between October 2011 and February 2012, a major exhibition at the J. Paul Getty Museum will present a survey of postwar painting and sculpture in Los Angeles.
It will be a great deal of fun.
In tandem with PST, Art Platform—Los Angeles, the west coast cousin of The Armoury, is collaborating with Pacific Standard Time to organize an extraordinary series of events and services to highlight this historic period and unprecedented weekend of art in Los Angeles. Rather wonderfully I am part of their VIP Programme.
Tonight Eric is bringing supper. The little dog will get better. I am willing him to. Help me think him right.


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Wedding Invitation by Jessica Downs for Bella FiguraSimple, classic, and with an apparent air of mystery you can't quite put your finger on, Jessica Tierney's Duncan letterpress invitations are posh, refined, and eco-friendly. This boldly restrained letterpress wedding invitation design is perfect for a black tie wedding with timelessly formal elegance.
View additional pieces in the Duncan sample suite.
Pricing and Ordering
Learn more about our ordering process
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Letterpress website cards are a great way to keep your guests informed with up-to-date information surrounding wedding weekend events. These website cards were printed in classic black ink on a petite #17 sized card.
Pricing and Ordering
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10 business days to print for almost all designs.
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Thursday, August 15, 2013
A Weeks Worth of Groceries from Kitchens Around the World
Did you ever wonder what someone else's pantry and food purchases might look? I don't know how typical these families are, but they give us some insight into how families in other parts of the world eat. Additional photos can be found here. The information and pictures in this post comes from atp.likes.com. Their stream relies heavily on a photo essay originally created by Peter Menzel.
#1 Australia, Riverview - $428.00 per week
The Brown family from Australia spends around $ 428.00 per week on groceries for their entire family! When studying the eating habits of Australians, it is evident that they consume a lot of potatoes, however this is mostly in the form of chips. Over the last few years, Australians have began eating more dairy products such as yogurt and cheese.
On the increase in Australia is the number of coffee, pies, donuts and hamburgers consumed by the average Australian, all of which aren't too great for overall health! Like most Western countries, foods that were once "party foods", such as candy, soda and crisps have now become "everyday foods" for many households.
The four most common dishes being cooked in Australian households for dinner are: Steak and vegetables, roast chicken and vegetables, spaghetti bolognaise and beef casserole - Delicious! Australians also love a BBQ, as evident in this photograph with the large quantities of red meat such as sausages and steak.
#2 Bosnia and Herzegovina, Sarajevo - $90.00 per week
The Dudo family from Bosnia and Herzegovina spends around $90 per week on groceries to feed their entire family. As evident in this photograph, meals from Bosnia and Herzegovina use a lot of fresh ingredients such as fruit and vegetables.
Breakfast in this region usually includes foods such as scrambled eggs or bread with a spread such as jam, butter, honey, or a soft white cheese. Entrees in this country usually consist of a meat or potato dish. Lunch is the largest meal of the day, and common meals include bosanki lonac (a slow-roasted pot of meat and vegetables) or japrak (cabbage rolls stuffed with a savory filling).
Pita bread called somun filled with small sausages and chopped onions is also a specialty of this region. Desserts commonly contain fruit, and this is especially evident looking at this family's week of groceries! Perhaps that's the secret to being able to enjoy dessert whilst avoiding gaining weight?
#3 Canada, Iqaluit - $392.00 per week
The Melanson family from Canada spends around $ 392 per week on groceries! When it comes to what Canadians love to eat and drink the most, the answers might shock you! Did you know that Canada drinks 8.64 times more Americano than any other city in the world, or that Canadians eat 6.19 times more Maple-flavoured foods than other cities around the world? Crazy!
Canadians also love eating ribs and bacon (as featured in this photograph), as well as other foods such as raspberries, waffles, muffins and flax. When it comes to common meals in Canada, stew is a favorite during the colder months. Canadians also like to opt for healthy options from time to time, and they consume 1.55 times more quinoa than other countries - Impressive!
#4 Cuba, Havana - $64.00 per week
Similarly to the family in China, the Costa family from Cuba spends around $64 per week on their groceries. Cuba is the largest country in the Caribbean, and while it is believed that Spain and Africa contributed most to Cuban cuisine, the French, Arabic, Chinese, and Portuguese cultures were also highly influential!
Traditional Cuban dishes generally lack seasonings and sauces and this is particularly evident from looking at this family's weekly groceries. Did you know that black beans, stews, and meats are the most popular foods in Cuba, and that root vegetables are often flavored with a combination of olive oil, lemon juice, onions, garlic, and cumin? Yum!
The most common meals eaten in Cuba are those made with pork, chicken, rice, beans, tomatoes, and lettuce. Contrary to popular belief, hot spices are rarely used in Cuban cooking!
#5 Germany, Bargteheide - $568.00 per week
The Melander family from Germany spends a whopping $568 per week on groceries and that's just for a family of four! The first thing we noticed were all of those drinks - Either this is one thirsty family or they're preparing for the apocalypse... Both beer and wine are extremely popular in Germany, and beer is even mixed with other beverages in order to create numerous different types of the beverage.
The average person in Germany will consume up to 61 kg of meat in a single year! Pork, beef, and poultry are the main varieties of meat consumed in Germany, with pork being the most popular, and chicken, duck, goose, and turkey are also widely consumed across the country. Germans also enjoy a range of cold meats (such as salami, ham etc.), as well as sausages.
You may also notice a lot of vegetables in this photograph and that is because they are used in stews or vegetable soups and are also served as side dishes. Carrots, turnips, spinach, peas, beans, broccoli, potatoes, cabbage and onions are very common additions to meals. Germans also love to eat bread rolls with their meals, and these are often cut in half and spread with condiments such as cheese, honey, jam, Nutella, butter, margarine, or even filled with cold meats or fish.
#6 India, Ujjain - $45.00 per week
The Patkar family from India spends around $45 per week on their groceries. You may notice a lack of red meat, and this is because Indian cuisine has been shaped by Hindu and Jain beliefs, and in particular by vegetarianism. Staple foods of Indian cuisine include pearl millet, rice, whole-wheat flour, and a variety of lentils.
Indians also love to use a range of spices in their cooking, and the most popular of these are whole or powdered chilli pepper, black mustard seed, cardamom, cumin, turmeric, ginger, coriander and garlic. Desserts and sweeter dishes are seasoned with cardamom, saffron, nutmeg, and rose petal essences - Delicious!
Indians also prefer to drink tea or coffee with breakfast. Roti is a common and popular flat bread eaten with most meals, and this is clearly evident from the photograph - Just look at that tower of bread!
#7 Italy, Palermo - $295.00 per week
This is the Manzo family from Italy, and they spend around $295 per week on their groceries. Although Italian cuisine is influenced by Etruscan, ancient Greek, ancient Roman, Byzantine, and Jewish cuisine, the food of Italy is also well-known for its simplicity and use of very few ingredients. Traditional Central Italian cuisine commonly uses ingredients such as tomatoes, meat, fish, and pecorino cheese.
Cheese, wine and espresso coffee are all treasured elements of Italian cuisine. Italians are also well-known for their love of pasta, including penne, macaroni, spaghetti, linguine, fusilli, lasagne, ravioli and tortellini. Basil, nuts and olive oil are also popular ingredients used in Italian cooking, and in case you didn't already notice from this photograph, Italians absolutely love their bread!
#8 Japan, Kodaira City - $361.00 per week
The Ukita family from Japan spends around $361 per week on their groceries. The traditional food of Japan includes rice and miso soup. Side dishes often consist of pickled vegetables, fish, and vegetables cooked in broth.
The Japanese particularly love fish, and it is often grilled or served raw as sashimi or in sushi. If you've ever eaten in a Japanese restaurant, you will have also noticed that seafood and vegetables are commonly deep-fried in a light tempura batter.
Apart from rice, Japanese cuisine also includes many noodle dishes, and Japanese food is traditionally flavored using a combination of dashi, soy sauce, sake and mirin, vinegar, sugar, and salt. Japanese cuisine commonly uses seafood as they like to take advantage of the country's bountiful, surrounding ocean.
#9 Kuwait, Kuwait City - $252.00 per week
The Al-Haggan family from Kuwait spends around $252 per week in order to feed their whole family! The national dish of Kuwait consists of mutton, chicken, or fish placed over or mixed into a large amount of rice. Food is very important to the people and culture of Kuwait, and this is why it is often prepared in large amounts and shared with many family members and friends.
Indian, Persian, and Mediterranean cuisines have all had a significant impact on the food of Kuwait. Did you know that a meal is never complete in Kuwait unless it is accompanied by dates and either a side of yoghurt or tahini? Sounds delicious, right? While most meals involve meat and cheese, other popular dishes also include pickled turnips and tabouleh.
#10 Mali, Kouakourou - $30.00 per week
The Natomo family from Mali spends just $30 per week on groceries to feed their very large family. Although Malian dishes vary from region to region, rice, millet, sorghum and fonio all provide staple ingredients. Meals are commonly served with sauces of fish, meat or vegetables, and grains are often used to make porridge.
A healthy juice made from hibiscus, ginger or the fruit of the baobab tree is a Malian specialty! Many Malians also enjoy drinking millet beer. Fish, including the capitaine fish or Tinani fish, are also commonly barbecued or grilled over an open fire.
#11 Mexico, Cuernavaca - $189.00 per week
The Casales family from Mexico spends around $189 per week on their groceries. We cannot help but notice how much this family loves Coca Cola! The basic staples of Mexican food include native corn, beans, chili peppers, tomatoes, squashes, avocados, cocoa and vanilla.
Mexican cuisine also uses a lot of beef, pork, chicken, goat and sheep meat, as well as cheese and herbs and spices. Did you know that Mexican cuisine also uses rare or unique ingredients in their cooking such as edible flowers?
Tropical fruits such as prickly pear, sapote, guava, mangoes, bananas, pineapple and custard apple are extremely popular. Mexicans also enjoy drinking alcoholic beverages such as tequila, pulque, brandy, wine, beer and rum.
#12 China, Weitaiwu - $65.00 per week
The Cui family from China spends around $65 per week on their groceries! China is a vast country, so naturally there are many different cooking methods and ingredients. For example, Sichuan cooking is well known for its hot and spicy flavors, and Cantonese cooking is famous for its sweet and sour style.
The most common ingredients in Chinese cooking are all pictured in this family's weekly groceries, and they include shallots, ginger, garlic and soy sauce. Meals in China usually consist of either rice or noodles.
Although both the northern and southern regions of China enjoy plenty of fresh vegetables in their diet, the regions also have some differences in their cuisine. For example, in the northern part of China, people like to eat dumplings with meat, steamed buns and noodles. In the southern part of the country, people eat dumplings with traditional Chinese sugar sauce and noodles.
#13 United States, North Carolina - $342.00 per week
The Revis family from the United States spends around $342 per week on groceries for their family of four. A lot of dishes that are typically considered American have actually been developed from other cuisines. For example, hot dogs and hamburgers are both based on traditional German dishes, and pizza is based on the traditional Italian dish!
Americans are widely known to love fast food, and judging by this family's groceries, that is highly evident - We can spot McDonald's, pizza, fried chicken, a hot dog, nachos, and some Burger King among the other food! Some American families like to make breakfast a large meal, often consisting of cereal, eggs, toast, pancakes, coffee, and fruit juice.
Did you know that the ice-cream sundae was born in America? As a result, Americans are huge fans of ice-cream, and eat it more than other countries. Americans are also lovers of smoothies and coffee-blended drinks, so we're surprised we can't see any in this photograph!
#14 Ecuador, Tingo - $32.00 per week,
The Ayme family from Ecuador only spends around $32 per week on their groceries. It is interesting to note that the poorer families are often the ones eating the most healthy food. There isn't one processed food in sight in this photograph!
Ecuadorian cuisine varies with altitude and agricultural conditions. For example, pork, chicken, beef, and guinea pig are popular ingredients in the mountainous regions, and these are served with rice, corn, and potatoes. A wide variety of fresh fruit is eaten, including granadilla, passionfruit, naranjilla, several types of bananas, uvilla, taxo, and tree tomato.
People living along the coast of the country often eat fish, beans, and unripened bananas. In the rainforest, a dietary staple is a starchy root which is then peeled and boiled, fried, or used in a variety of other dishes.
#15 Egypt, Cairo - $78.00 per week
The Ahmed family from Egypt spends around $78 per week to feed their entire family! You may have noticed from this photograph that Egyptian cuisine involves large quantities of legumes and vegetables and this is due to Egypt's rich Nile Valley and Delta producing large quantities of excellent crops. Egyptian cuisine is based on foods that grow out of the ground, and you may notice only small quantities of meat. This is due to the fact that throughout Egypt's history, meat has always been very expensive to purchase.
Egyptians also love their flat bread (as pictured) and it is consumed at almost all Egyptian meals. Egyptian meals also commonly involve stuffing vegetables such as capsicum, zucchini and eggplant with rice. Kebab, Falafel and baklava may be known as Eastern Mediterranean dishes, however they are also widely consumed in Egypt!
24 comments :
- Ginny Hartzler said...
So interesting to see how the other countries eat and what they cost! Here, fresh food cost more than fast food, which is why so many poor people around here eat at McDonalds. But that is not the case in other countries!
- August 15, 2013 at 12:39 AM
- Glamour Drops said...
Please don't judge Australian cuisine on that selection and description! Yuk! Our own diet, and that of our family and friends, could not be more different.
I think the point also needs to be made that just because one family eats that way, it is not typical of a whole nation. So many other factors come into play. - August 15, 2013 at 4:16 AM
- Coleens Recipes said...
This is just fascinating, I couldn't quit running back through the photos!! I was feeling pretty guilty at spending $500 a MONTH for our groceries; now I don't feel so bad hahaha.
- August 15, 2013 at 4:21 AM
- Duncan D. Horne - the Kuantan blogger said...
Very interesting post Mary. We spend around RM200 per week in grocery shopping, which equates to around $80. That doesn't seem so much!
Duncan In Kuantan - August 15, 2013 at 5:51 AM
- Lynn said...
That was very interesting Mary! I liked the note "it's interesting that the poorest families eat the healthiest"... No doubt Americans need to start cooking for themselves again:@)
- August 15, 2013 at 5:52 AM
- Tracy H said...
I enjoyed this article so much I passed it along to some of my friends who are now adopting organic, gluten free and vegan diets.
- August 15, 2013 at 7:22 AM
- Tricia @ Saving room for dessert said...
Mary - this is one of the most fascinating posts I've ever seen. How did you do this? I would love to know more. Biggest surprise? Germany and Australia
- August 15, 2013 at 7:37 AM
- Tanna said...
Very interesting, Mary. The choices for the weekly food are interesting, too. blessings ~ tanna
- August 15, 2013 at 7:57 AM
- Jessica Jarrell said...
I love this post, so fascinating. Thank you for putting it together! I spend about $65 a week for a 2 person family, and I'd say half that amount of money is spent on fresh vegetables and fruit.
- August 15, 2013 at 8:49 AM
- Lsarpolis said...
I am embarrassed by the grocery list of the Americans as I am an American and would never ever have food items like that in my home!
- August 15, 2013 at 8:58 AM
- Susan Lindquist said...
I. too, found this a fascinating read. I enlarged the photos to really get a look at food types and products ... looks like fresh fruits and vegetables are less expensive in other countries ... the amount of processed foods in England, Japan, USA, Canada was pretty alarming, but it bears out the nutrition stats for these countries ... and had a laugh about Germany and all the beer ...
- August 15, 2013 at 9:50 AM
- Dorine King said...
Hi Mary,
I love this post! As a Feng Shui Practitioner, I see many kitchens and pantries. I find them very interesting. One of my favorite pantries is in the kitchen of a woman from India. I loved her pantry and the array of spices she had in it. She and I laughed about the size of her Turmeric container. Where mine holds about 1/4 cup, hers holds about 2 cups! While we had our appointment, her mother-in-law was cooking their lunch. OMG(osh!) How wonderful her home smelled! Good Kitchen Feng Shui!
- August 15, 2013 at 9:55 AM
- Diane said...
What an interesting post. Wow, Germany sounds expensive but I was amazed at the amount of liquid that was there. We go through many bottles of water so maybe there was some water there as well.
Just looked through our food bills for last year and we averaged 278€ per month, wine not included. At today's exchange rate that is $379 and for only two of us. Most of our vegetable is home grown so does not come in to it. It was much higher when we were in the UK.
Have a good day Diane - August 15, 2013 at 10:03 AM
- Chiara said...
that was very interesting!
- August 15, 2013 at 11:16 AM
- David said...
Mary, This is a very informative and interesting blog! Love the comparisons... There are only 2 of us plus a cat to feed and if we included the cost of eating out each month, the number would be/is a bit scary! Take Care, Big Daddy Dave
- August 15, 2013 at 11:57 AM
- KimH said...
I saw this a couple years ago.. its so interesting..
My diet looks nothing like the Typical American Diet that is portrayed here.. and we can all take comfort in knowing that none of us are the same.
I tend to use grass fed & pastured beef & chickens, organic veggies and rarely do we consume bread or wheat products..
However.. I know folks who do eat a diet very much like what is portrayed.. and its scary. What I said to a gal who was interviewing me regarding food, I call it "dead food." - August 15, 2013 at 12:05 PM
- Ciao Chow Linda said...
That really was a fascinating look into how other people spend their money on groceries. It got me wondering about my own situation. I never really keep track, but I can't imagine it's as high as some of the ones in the essay.
- August 15, 2013 at 1:57 PM
- June said...
Interesting the Canadian example is from the far, far north - Baffin Island where nothing grows, not even trees and the population is minimal. Pretty safe to say everything would have to be flown in. I'm puzzled why they didn't select a family from a location that is more populated and less likely to promote the fallacy that all Canadians live in igloos and eat seal blubber stew.
- August 15, 2013 at 2:10 PM
- Barbara Bradford said...
Thank You. This was really interesting, I had not imagined the differences between countries in food dollars. I love to see the different foods in the raw state, also.
- August 15, 2013 at 3:19 PM
- Karen (Back Road Journal) said...
I've seen this before and found it so interesting. Thanks for sharing...it makes people pause and think about what they are eating.
- August 15, 2013 at 4:44 PM
- Angie's Recipes said...
What an interesting read! Gosh...so much beer on German table.
- August 15, 2013 at 11:13 PM
I received this from Victoria Challancin ['Flavors of the Sun'] this morning and have since reposted. I also write from Australia and largely agree with 'Glamour Drops'. [and I do have a medical/nutritional/financial background]. Australia has become an expensive country and the money cited works out about right for how we work it out, but we are working very, very hard to get reduce the fast food component, sugars and saturated fats and increase vegetable consumption.
- August 16, 2013 at 12:57 AM
- Cher Rockwell said...
Very interesting post - thanks for sharing!
- August 16, 2013 at 12:24 PM
- Sam Hoffer / My Carolina Kitchen said...
Fascinating what to see people in other countries eat. Great post with very interesting information. Amazing about the liquid in the diets.
We lived in a third world country where the cost of food was almost double the price in the US, and most of the food came from the US. Years ago they ate almost no fresh food or vegetables, mostly canned vegetables and milk. Lots of fish, but mostly fried. A different world for sure. And not many healthy people with that kind of diet. You do what you have to do....
Sam - August 16, 2013 at 8:16 PM


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Key Lookup Showplan Operator
Introduced in SQL Server 2005 Service Pack 2, the Key Lookup operator is a bookmark lookup on a table with a clustered index. The Argument column contains the name of the clustered index and the clustering key used to look up the row in the clustered index. Key Lookup is always accompanied by a Nested Loops operator. If the WITH PREFETCH clause appears in the Argument column, the query processor has determined that it is optimal to use asynchronous prefetching (read-ahead) when looking up bookmarks in the clustered index. For more information about read-ahead, see Reading Pages.
In earlier versions of SQL Server 2005, the bookmark lookup functionality is shown by using the Clustered Index Seek operator with the keyword LOOKUP. In SP2, the Key Lookup operator icon displays in the graphical execution plan; however, when displaying the execution plan in XML or text format, the output shows the **Clustered Index Seek **operator with the keyword LOOKUP.
The use of a Key Lookup operator in a query plan indicates that the query might benefit from performance tuning. For example, query performance might be improved by adding a covering index.
Graphical execution plan icon
The following example runs a simple query, modifies a nonclustered index to cover the query, and then re-runs the query to observe the difference in the query execution plan. By displaying the graphical execution plan for this query, you can see that the plan for the first execution of the query shows the Key Lookup operator is used to retrieve the GroupName data from the clustered index on the HumanResources.Department table.
The plan also shows that the nonclustered index AK_Department_Name is used to satisfy the WHERE clause predicate of the query. By modifying this index to include the GroupName column, the index can cover the query and the query plan contains only an index seek operation. The time to execute the query is significantly reduced.
USE AdventureWorks;
SELECT GroupName
FROM HumanResources.Department
WHERE Name = 'Engineering';
-- Create a covering index by adding GroupName to the nonclustered index.
USE AdventureWorks;
CREATE UNIQUE NONCLUSTERED INDEX AK_Department_Name
ON HumanResources.Department ( Name ASC, GroupName)
USE AdventureWorks;
SELECT GroupName
FROM HumanResources.Department
WHERE Name = 'Engineering';


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From the kitchen of One Perfect Bite...I had planned to do a lot of Peruvian cooking before our October Amazon adventure began, but it seems the universe, or at least the clock, has conspired against me. I've only made a few of the dishes I intended to try, but, hopefully, they'll give the Silver Fox and me a real sense of what's to come. The recipe I'm featuring tonight came from an article written by John Broening for The Denver Post. The recipe, and the unusual technique used to cook the shrimp, was given to him by an uncle who lives in Peru, where the dish would be made with langoustines. In order to make this dish, you'll need a cast iron skillet, large unpeeled shrimp and a boatload of Kosher salt. The shrimp go into a hot skillet to which no oil has been added. They are covered with kosher salt and allowed to cook for several minutes on each side. As they cook, the salt forms a crust that keeps the shrimp super moist and flavorful. The shells, which remain on the shrimp as they cook, keep them from becoming too salty. Once they are cool enough to handle, the salt is brushed off and the shrimp are peeled. They are served with a fabulous quick-fix aioli that I know you will enjoy. This is a wonderfully flavorful dish that almost had my socks going up and down. I am withholding that accolade only because peeling the cooked shrimp is a real bother. I liked this dish enormously and I'll fix it again. I think those of you who try the shrimp will like them as much as I do. Here's the recipe.
Peruvian Salt Roasted Shrimp with Pimenton Aioli...from the kitchen of One Perfect Bite courtesy of John Broening and the Denver Post
Pimenton Aioli
Juice of 1 lemon
2 egg yolks
2 teaspoons minced garlic
1 tablespoon sweet smoked paprika
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Salt and pepper
1 cup canola oil
Salt Roasted Shrimp
2 pounds jumbo shrimp, unpeeled, intestine removed
2 cups kosher salt
Lemon wedges
1) To make aioli: Purée lemon juice, egg yolks, garlic, paprika, hot sauce, and salt and pepper in a food processor. Add canola oil slowly with processor running to emulsify. Refrigerate aioli, covered, until ready to use.
2) To make shrimp: Heat a large cast-iron skillet over medium heat. Working in batches, add enough shrimp to fill pan so the pan is full but the shrimp are not touching. Generously sprinkle exposed surface of shrimp with salt and cook for three minutes. Turn, and sprinkle with a little more salt. Cook 2 minutes and remove to a platter. Repeat procedure until all shrimp are cooked. Serve family-style with smoked paprika aioli and lemon wedges. Yield: 6 to 8 servings.
One Year Ago Today: Chocolate Ice Box Pie
Two Years Ago Today: Hannibal's Roasted Tomato Pilaf
Three Years Ago Today: Chocolate Hazelnut Pie with Vanilla Cream


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Forget about Joe the plumber, what about Amy the makeup artist and Angela the hairstylist?
The New York Times reports that the McCain campaign pays makeuper Amy Strozzi
$11,400 a week to work on "Carribou Barbie" Palin. That makes Strozzi the highest paid campaign worker on the McCain/Palin payroll.
Joe the plumber makes nowhere near enough to pay more taxes under Obama's tax increase for the rich. But Strozzi might.
Running not far behind the makeup artist is Palin's California hairstylist Angela Lew at $5,000 a week, the Times reports. This on top of reports that the McCain campaign earlier spent $150,000 on designer clothes for Palin.
So much for fiscal conservatism. So much for the average Joe facing mass layoffs. Hundreds of thousands on makeup, hair, designer boots? Think of all the six packs that money could buy.


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Wild launches natural brown flavours for crème-filled chocolates
The firm presented its range to trade visitors at FIE in Paris at the end of November. Flavours include toffee, cappuccino, walnut, and sweet almond.
Birgit Braun, product manager at Wild told ConfectioneryNews.com: "They can be perfectly used in fat cream fillings in chocolate confectionery."
The company said another potential application was as fat cream fillings in sandwich cookies.
"As for natural brown flavors, there is a rather limited choice on the market so far. Wild is able to offer them high quality for great tasting, indulgent products," Braun continued.
UK based firm Synergy also offers a range of natural brown flavourings, while French firm Prova, which also exhibited at FiE, is another claiming to specialise in brown flavouring. Döhler also has its own range of brown flavours.
A recent report from Leatherhead Food Research, Global Food Additives Market, said that cconsumers were continuing to seek alternatives to artificial flavours and favouring products flavoured naturally.
Braun was asked how the price of Wild's offering compared to its competitors and which of the flavours would be more expensive for manufacturers, she said: "This depends on the respective flavour, be it brown ones or fruity ones, and cannot be generalised."
She said that a major challenge in developing the flavours was in tapping new sources for the brown flavours, in finding new raw material and screening them accurately.
Braun said that the flavours would not need any additional ingredients to support them and manufacturers would not be required to modify any processes in production.
She added that confectioners were able to keep a clean-label by using the flavours.
"According to the new EC flavour regulation 1334/2003, they are labelled natural flavours'," she said.


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Perhaps one of the longest projects to come to fruition for me has been Gearbox. Over three years ago, a couple of us started talking about the need for a makerspace in Nairobi, which turned up a notch to something more like a rapid protoyping and light manufacturing facility. We see Gearbox as the on-ramp for more industrial manufacturing to happen in Kenya.
We were thinking of two types of users. First, somewhere that the rapidly growing community around robotics and electronics at the iHub could use. Second, something that was a step beyond a the FabLab at the University of Nairobi, so more useful to smaller companies.
Recently Lemelson Foundation, alongside AutoDesk, USAID and an unnamed benefactor stepped in to make some funds available to find the location and bring on a full-time Director. Dr. Kamau Gachigi started the Univ of Nairobi FabLab, and having him come on to lead this initiative is a real coup – there's no one better in the region who has more experience than this for crating a place for inventors and companies working on rapid prototyping.
Finding a Space and Filling it up
The two main things we're trying to get done before the end of the year are finding a great location, and getting the machines and equipment to fill it.
Finding a Space
We've been looking all over Nairobi for a 10,000-20,000sqft space for Gearbox. It needs to be convenient to get to, large enough to allow us to grow and flex in, and taking a lesson from TechShop we'd like it to be near places where people would like to be already. This means we don't want it too deep in the industrial area, but we'd like the edge, say something near/in Railways, or by the Bunyala roundabout.
If you know of someone who has a good location for Gearbox to grow, please let us know.
Getting Equipment
If you're involved in manufacturing in Kenya, or if you're just someone who wants to get involved, we've created a Gearbox page that shows you how to do that. You can become a corporate or individual sponsor, donate equipment and gear, or give your time to train and help others learn new skills.
The Big Stuff ($5,000 – $100,000+)
- Vacuum Former
- 5-axis CNC Router
- 3-axis CNC Milling Center
- 3-axis CNC Router
- Laser cutter
- Lathe
- Vertical Mill Machine
- Automated Pick and Place
- RFID Access System
- Punch Press
- Benchtop CNC
- Reflow oven
- Powder Coating Set-up
- Metcal Advanced Rework Package APR5000-DZ-ML
- V275-S 4-Pack Inverter Rack Multi-Operator Welder – K2666-1
- MULTI-WELD® 350 Multi-Operator Welder – K1735-1
- Elektrabrake, manual
- Dr. Boy Injection Moulding Machine
There is a lot more needed, many smaller items, which you can also find on the same page.
The companies who are behind getting Gearbox off the ground are the iHub, BRCK, Sanergy, and Ushahidi – while this is a start, it'll take a lot more help from many more small organizations and individuals. Reach out to Kamau and see how you too can get involved at this early stage.